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It was several days later. Izayoi was sitting with the two sisters, Azami and Suki, in a room that opened up to private gardens on one side. They were having tea and talk, which Izayoi was thoroughly enjoying. It was nice to be clean and dressed again, have plenty to eat, and have someone to talk to. The two sisters were very nice, and reminded her of her own sisters, one of the only things she really missed about her home.
Azami seemed to genuinely like Izayoi. And Izayoi found her charming, perceptive, witty, and educated, but still more than willing to talk of gossip and frivolous things. Suki seemed a bit more of a snob, but she immediately forgot all first impressions when it was revealed that Izayoi was indeed of a noble clan. And while only a few years younger, Suki found it impossible to refuse any idea that her sister liked. Though she seemed to have her head up in the clouds a good deal more than Azami.
So far, they had talked of nothing in particular but the layout of the lands and of Azami and Suki's family. She learned that they had an older brother, and had had another who had been killed in battle the previous year. Izayoi had offered nothing of her family, and while Azami hadn't asked, Suki now began questioning her.
"So what clan are you from?"
"Nothing like you," Izayoi said humbly, hoping to change the subject. "I doubt you've heard of us. We are just a simple family."
"Of what name?"
"I--"
"Suki," Azami cut in, "Izayoi-san obviously left. So I'm sure she would prefer not to say. But perhaps you could tell us a little?" she ventured, turning to Izayoi.
"I...there was someone that my father wouldn't let me marry because I was already engaged. But then that someone left me. And then...I just felt trapped by it all. It sounds stupid now, but I just felt like I didn't want to go on. I was going to throw myself off a cliff."
"Oh! That is so like something out of one of the classic verses!" Suki exclaimed. "Lost love, suicide..." she sighed. "I would hate to marry someone I didn't even like. I feel so sorry for you! That would never happen to us."
"What Suki means," Azami said, "is that due to our position, we'll have more than our pick of husbands."
"I see," Izayoi said.
"But do tell us about Inutaisho-sama," Suki exclaimed, changing the subject.
"Tell you about him? Why don't you tell me about him?" she asked.
Azami shrugged. "We really don't know anything about him. I've hardly spoken to him. He usually stays by himself when he's here, or only has things to say to Father and Mother."
"But then there's the legends," Suki said.
"Legends?" Izayoi asked.
"Yes," Azami said, "legends and history. Our family has supposedly had dealings with him since before anyone can remember. There are several scrolls in the main room about that. But it's said that he controls the lands around here and always has. I don't know much about youkai, but it's said that he's one of the oldest and most powerful. He's the only youkai I've ever seen around here, so maybe it's true. There's also something about that in the legends--that these lands are under his protection."
"Mm..." Izayoi mused.
"But he seems nice enough, I suppose," she continued, "if a little distant and intimidating. He is youkai, after all." After a pause, "Would you mind me asking how exactly you met him?"
"It was on the cliff. We ended up talking about...things. At the end, he said I could come and live here if I wanted."
"Why?"
"I really have no idea."
-----
It was several weeks later when Inutaisho came to the Kikuchi house. Upon word of his arrival, the current Kikuchi lord, Daisuke, came to greet him.
"Ah, Inutaisho-sama. Everything is well, I trust?"
"Yes."
"The girl, Izayoi, arrived."
"Izayoi?" he repeated.
"That girl..." Daisuke stammered, suddenly uncomfortable. "She--she informed us that you had given her permission to stay here."
That girl, he suddenly remembered. He had never heard her name before, he realized.
"I knew she was lying," Daisuke was saying. "She--"
"No, I did say that," Inutaisho cut him off.
"Oh, of course then. Whatever you wish, my lord. I'll be leaving you, if there's nothing else?"
"Has my son come by, by any chance?"
"Sesshoumaru-sama? Why, no. You know that he--he's not...too fond of us. I haven't seen him in years--not since the last time that he was here with you. Were you expecting him?"
"Not particularly. But I had hoped that he might at least have the decency to leave me a message here. I suppose not."
Daisuke remained quiet, not willing to comment on his remark one way or the other.
-----
Izayoi heard from Azami the next day that Inutaisho had returned. She had also noticed a change in several people's behavior, most notably the lord's. Suddenly, it wasn't as if he were annoyed with her being there, but put up with it merely because he had to, it was as if she were completely deserving of being there, simply because of Inutaisho's confirmation. It was kind of odd, really.
She wondered if she would see Inutaisho at all, and if so, what she should say. She didn't have much time to think about it, however, as when she turned the next corner of the hallway, he was there.
"Hello," she blurted out, not sure what else to say.
"Hello."
"I--I wanted to thank you," she said. There was a silence. "Thank you, Inutaisho-sama."
Just then someone stepped out of a doorway. "Inutaisho-sama?"
Izayoi suddenly felt very awkward. She quickly bowed, and then continued on her way down the hall. She cringed as she walked away. That couldn't have gone worse, she thought. She risked a half-glace back around, and saw Inutaisho following the man into the room.
She kept walking, ended up in the gardens, and decided to stay there. Izayoi mulled over the last few moments in her head. She certainly hadn't been expecting to see him there.
She realized that he looked a lot different than she remembered, or perhaps didn't remember. He looked a lot more...youkai. "Fair hair" didn't quite cover it. His hair was a whitish silver, his eyes were yellow, there were marks on his face, and his hands seemed to have something more like claws than nails. Other than that, he was dressed very nicely, and seemed to be wearing a special sort of armor.
"Hello."
Izayoi nearly jumped out of her skin. She whipped around, only to find him suddenly right behind her. "Don't do that!" she screeched. "I mean--yes, Inutaisho-sama?"
He smirked slightly. "Why so formal?"
"Inutaisho-sama, I--"
"Don't call me that," he interrupted suddenly.
"What? Why not?"
"I don't know."
"But everyone else is--I mean, everyone else calls you that," she said, looking down.
"Yes, they do. But it might be refreshing to know one person who doesn't walk backwards in front of me, so to speak. And I think perhaps that formality doesn't suit you."
"I'll call you whatever you want...Inutaisho," she added awkwardly.
"I told them you could stay here. You don't have to be so eager to please. Whatever happened to living your life for you, and all of that?"
"I see," Izayoi said. "So why did you do it? Back then, I mean."
"I don't know," he finally said. "I suppose I felt sorry for you. And I happened to be there. And sometimes it's almost nice to do something that will make a difference, even to one person. I'm not in a position to do that very often."
Izayoi was shocked for some reason. "I didn't know youkai thought about things like that," she said after a moment.
"There's a lot that people don't know about youkai."
"Like what?"
-----
That was the beginning of their odd talks, talks about everything to nothing, and talks that were often. Only when he told her that he would be leaving for a little while did Izayoi realize how much time they had been spending together during the past week. But it was only a few short days before he returned, and they resumed their talks.
It wasn't long before Izayoi felt like she could say anything in front of him, even things that she wouldn't tell to Azami and Suki. Not personal things, necessarily, but just things. It was almost like she didn't have to worry about society around him; no matter what they were talking about, he didn't judge anything she said one way or the other, and didn't seem to think anything of her for saying it. And then there was the fact that she felt she really had nothing left to hide. He had already seen her at her lowest (the exact details of that night she had never repeated to anyone else).
And he told her things, things about the world and about youkai. Many things that she never imagined. And it was interesting to get a slightly (or sometimes incredibly) different perspective on things, sometimes things that she had never looked at in a different way before. Actually, he seemed to somewhat enjoy having someone to talk to, even if she was the one that did most of the talking most of the time. She wondered about what Azami had said about him keeping to himself. Izayoi had noticed that he was rarely in the company of anyone besides herself.
One night when they were more or less aimlessly walking around the main halls, she decided to ask him about it. She had been unable to sleep, and thought to spend a while in the private courtyard gardens as long as she was up. She found him there, doing nothing but staring at the sky. He had immediately noticed her, and they had started talking, only returning inside when the wind began to chill her.
"What exactly is the arrangement here?" she asked. "With you and the Kikuchi, I mean. How did it start? You're not always here?"
"I come here when I'm not doing other things, or just to rest. I stay for a few days, a week, whatever I feel like. I have a room on the far end of the building."
"Do you stay to yourself? That's just what I heard someone say," she added quickly.
"Mostly, yes." He gave her a look. "Until recently."
"How does it all work? You're obviously important, but you don't really do anything, unless I'm missing something?"
Inutaisho led her over to some scrolls that were on a far wall. One of them pictured two men in fancy kimono bowing before a man with white hair. Izayoi frowned and then looked closer.
"Is that you?" she asked.
"Yes, but it was nothing like that. If I recall correctly, I made that proposal on the edge of a particularly gruesome battlefield, with two warlord brothers, one of whom had just finished having his leg amputated."
"And they painted it like that?"
"Stories grow and people glorify their ancestors," he said. "Besides, there's no one left who remembers, and I doubt anyone is left that even knows the correct story."
"Doesn't it bother you that they don't care what actually happened?"
"Not really. Let them have their stories. But you asked how it started. That was it. I wanted a place to come back to every now and then, that didn't require upkeep. As well as a little help, should I need it." He sighed. "Though that was so long ago... But in return, they got the guarantee that their lands would be safe from other youkai. They died, of course, but it continued with their descendants, until today."
"How old are you?" she asked, wondering why she didn't think of it before.
"Old enough," he said with a smirk.
"Old enough?" she repeated.
"Old enough."
"Mm. But how does that work?" she asked, going back to the previous subject. "You don't rule?"
"No."
"But I've heard these referred to as your lands."
"That. I don't rule over anything, but everyone stays out of my way and does something if I say so." There was amusement in his voice. Izayoi got the feeling that he was enjoying this.
"That wouldn't be ruling?"
"No. The people here, for instance, have a specific agreement with me. They do whatever they want, and manage their affairs accordingly. I have no interest in human politics. But if I request something, I receive it. And any borders are youkai borders, they don't necessarily correspond to human ones. Besides than the Kikuchi, other humans in this area more or less just understand that I'm around. You could think of youkai and human lands something like wolves and birds. Each live in the same space, but for the most part the territories exist independently. Neither really cares about the other's existence."
"So you rule the youkai part."
"Youkai don't really have politics," Inutaisho said. "I'm stronger than others are, so it's more of an effect. And the only thing I've 'ruled' is that youkai here are not to be attacking human settlements, particularly here, in the heart of the place."
"Why?"
"I like humans."
"Most youkai don't, then?"
"Perhaps as food."
"I suppose I knew that," Izayoi said. "But they listen to you, if you say? You're that far apart from other youkai?"
Inutaisho looked at her.
"It's just--I mean, humans are humans," she said. "Aren't youkai youkai?"
He grinned. "Not exactly."
As Izayoi suddenly noticed his pointed incisors, she realized that she had never seen him really smile until now. "What?"
"It's almost refreshing to meet someone who has no idea who I am, that's all. Most humans at least know," he explained, "especially those in this area. And any youkai who didn't would figure it out because of our extra senses. But have you heard any stories of the dog youkai?"
"Yes," Izayoi said. "Oh," she realized. Those youkai weren't just youkai. There were centuries old legends that told of the dog youkai as beings that were ancient, with the powers of almost gods. She looked back at him. "You...you said that you were the white dog?" she remembered. He nodded, that amused look still on his face.
Suddenly something out of the legends clicked. "THE white dog?" she asked. He nodded again. Not only was he one of the dog youkai, but the one (or at least related to the one) at the head of the legends. "Are you the one that they talk about?" Izayoi asked.
"Probably. I doubt any tales have survived from before that."
"Then how old are you?" she asked again.
"Old enough."
Izayoi dropped it.
She felt like an idiot for not realizing everything earlier, but then... "You're not dead," she exclaimed.
He smiled for the second time that night. "Am I supposed to be?"
"Just...the way that I heard the stories," she said, "they made it sound like nothing like that, nothing like you," she added embarrassedly, "still existed."
"I'm not completely surprised," Inutaisho said. "Many humans would probably prefer to think that. It's much more enjoyable to talk about something if you think it only existed long ago, instead of simply on the other end of the islands."
"But they don't deny that other youkai exist."
"And that scares them enough, doesn't it? They don't even want to contemplate the idea that something really powerful is still lurking around. But there's another fact that they also don't realize. The higher youkai are, the less likely they are to be interested in human doings, for any reason."
Izayoi noticed a scroll several feet away that had a large white dog painted across it in sweeping strokes. "Is that you too, then?" she asked.
"Yes."
"So you can look like that?"
"Yes."
"Which is what you really are?"
He shrugged. "Both."
"Did you ever feel like you were born for more?" she suddenly asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know. But sometimes I just feel like I'm not doing what I was meant to do. Like there's so much more out there."
"I don't think it's in youkai nature to feel that. That's one thing humans do too much of--philosophizing. Just live, that's the only thing any of us were born to do."
"But you can say that. You've done so much and seen so much. You've already found the answers."
"There are no answers," he said. "All there is is living. That's the point."
They resumed their walk, but not much of their talk after that. Izayoi soon realized that she had become hopelessly tired, and as they passed the corridor that her room was on, she bid him goodnight.
-----
Inutaisho watched Izayoi disappear into her room, and a sudden thought struck him. What was happening here? He enjoyed her company, but somewhere along the line, had it become more than that? She was definitely a welcome diversion from the boredom that usually awaited him at this place. The Kikuchi were fine, but it was nice to have someone that would actually talk to him about something other than the usual reports that everything was problem free.
Agreement or not, they were always tiptoeing around him, afraid of displeasing him in some way. It would please him if one of them would just be themselves around him. It hadn't always been like that; many times in the past there had been at least one noble or another who wasn't afraid to speak to really him, and he had hopes that the current son would be a bit less uptight than his father.
But Izayoi was different. He had only known her for a short time, and he already felt that he knew more about her than any human (and most youkai) that he could remember. She was easy to talk to, interested in things, even educated. And pretty as well. He felt relaxed and at ease around her, even if only because she was herself around him. But she was human. Not that humans weren't fine, but he never considered the possibility that he might fall for one. It would only bring complications. If it was even happening at all, that is.